Book Reviews & Thoughts

That Baby – Jillian Dodd

Synopsis

It’s amazing how a few little words can change your life.
It starts with a simple I love you.
It’s made official with I do.
And becomes incredible with I’m pregnant.
Jadyn is the girl I love. The girl I’ve always loved.
Our lives are like single threads meticulously woven together—the result an exquisite tapestry of past, present, and future.
Then there are the words that will unravel me.
A few little words that will change my life.

Review

I’ve been waiting for this book for three years now. You’d think that there’s no way it could hold up after all that time, but it met all of my expectations. Unfortunately, I was kind of hoping that this book would EXCEED them, considering almost every other Jillian Dodd book has done just that.

I miss the banter and wittiness of days past, but I understand that these lovable characters had to grow up. The days of strip football are over, but I find it hard to believe that Jayden could start caring so much about… wallpaper. I wish that whole Mrs. Mac conflict didn’t exist.

Based on the dedication, I steeled myself for the very worst. I kept expecting something absolutely terrible to happen (and totally dreaded it), so I was quite surprised by the big event (and kind of relieved). Normally that kind of thing would make me burst into tears, but I didn’t (because I expected something way more somber). From what I understand, Jillian Dodd knew she wanted this to happen very early on. Filling in the gaps was the hard part — ergo, the Lori situation, the Chelsea situation, and the Mrs. Mac situation. Here’s the thing: I wished that this book was approached differently. Instead, I would’ve preferred this to happen early on (just like the game-changing, tear-jerking event of the first book… you know what I’m talking about). Then I would’ve loved to see Jayden struggle and succeed throughout motherhood. I wanted to see their kids grow up and develop their own personalities, a perfect mix of their parents’. I would’ve loved hijinks like their kids catching them in the act, or Phillip freaking out as his kids became teenagers. Imagine how fun it would be if his kid and Danny’s kid ended up “practicing” like Jay and Danny did back in the day? That would’ve been hilarious!

I really wanted to see Danny and Jay get a “second chance” through their kids. I always felt that he had a soft spot for her, and always loved her… but knew that he couldn’t compete with Phillip. Heck, he pretty much admits that while thinking back to prom night. I wanted to see them grow up beside each other, and see time pass through the years (like it did in the first book! So many years, such a great journey!).

Because of that, I can definitely commiserate with Lori. It must SUCK to know that you can’t ever compete to your best friend for your husband’s affection. There was never any indication that Danny would choose her over Jay, unless Jayden gave explicit permission (“You should go after her.”). Even Mr. and Mrs. Diamond make that abundantly clear with the Angel thing. However, I feel like Lori was unfairly portrayed in this book. She could be controlling at times, but there had to be a reason why Danny stuck by her. I don’t like thinking that he felt “trapped” and unhappy. It would have been nice to see some sort of redeeming quality. For example, Danny could’ve had a career-limiting injury, but she could’ve stayed by him and loved and supported him throughout the process. Or maybe she could’ve gone to med school after all. I found it hard to believe that she was a gold digger, or that she resented not being able to pursue her dreams.

Overall, I loved spending more time with these characters, and I’m so so glad that we finally got closure on this series. At the end of the day, everything I wanted to happen came to fruition (in terms of where they ended up). I wanted to see Chelsea’s kid become part of their gang too, though! I just wish we got to spend more time in the future than in the short time of their pregnancy.